


A Mysterious Call

by Silasprime7



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Family Feels, Past Stan, Spoilers, kinda sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 00:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16252898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silasprime7/pseuds/Silasprime7
Summary: Stan answers his phone.





	A Mysterious Call

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I can't say that I did this well, but I did it.
> 
> It's just a short thing that I thought up in the night.

“Damnit, Ford.”  
  
Stan pulled his wrench down with a grunt, tightening the pipes connector so it would be stable. He wasn’t sure if this configuration was going to be the one to bring Ford back, but he was never really sure about that. Not without the other journal, at least. Still, after a month and a half of trying, not knowing wouldn’t stop him now.   
  
Stan put his wrench to the side before going back to the lever standing proud in the center of the room. Had he been a smarter man, he probably would have been thinking of checks to make sure the machine wouldn’t fail like all the other times. All he could think of though was, _Hopefully this time it will work._   
  
As the brown haired man reached to grab it, his mind turned back to that day. If only he hadn’t punched Ford. If only he hadn’t pushed him.   
  
“Heh, and if only I had a million bucks, too.”   
  
With his brows furrowed, Stan grabbed the lever and pulled. As he watched, electricity coursed across the portal covering the wall of the basement room. A smile came over his boxy face as he watched light pour out of the machine. As the noise poured out of it, he cried out.   
  
“Yes. Yes!”   
  
The excitement was short lived, however. As quickly as the machine had lit up, it went dark again. Its noise died down, and with it, Stan’s hopes sunk.   
  
“Damnit all!”   
  
He wanted to punch something. Another weeks worth of work, all for nothing. His brother was still lost.   
  
Violence wouldn’t solve this problem, though. So, with a sigh, the brown haired man retrieved his wrench, ready to go back to work again.   
  
Before he could find a new place to start, however, a very slight sound reached his ears. It sounded like... ringing?   
  
Stanley frowned as he slapped the side of his head. “Great, and I thought that was only temporary. Damn Boxing injuries.”   
  
It took a couple minutes before the ringing stopped. “Ah, there we go.” With a smirk on his face, the man went back to observing the device his brother had made.   
  
His reprieve lasted only a minute as the ringing began again. “Are you kidding me?!” Stan smacked the side of his head again, but the ringing didn’t stop.   
  
Despite his attempts to knock the ringing out of his head, the sound continued to bother the mid-aged man. With a growl, he slipped through the door to the control booth, heading towards the stairs. As he climbed his way to the ground floor, though, he noticed that the ringing seemed to be getting louder.   
  
As he opened the hidden door, it was obvious to Stan that the ringing wasn’t in his head. It was with a sigh that he made his way over to his phone, reaching over his newly made Duckoala exhibit to answer it. He started with his usual practiced tone before the other side could even begin.   
  
“You’ve reached the Murder Hut. Sorry, but we’re currently closed. If you wanna plan a party, you’re gonna wanna call back in the morning.”   
  
The other side of the line was quiet for a moment. Stan was about to hang up on the call, but a young mans voice stopped him.   
  
“Stanford?”   
  
Stan’s eyebrow raised. He hadn’t heard this voice before, so he had to be careful. Just one slip, and his cover could be blown.   
  
“Who’s askin’? And if it’s the police, those pugs were already there when I got there.”   
  
_That should throw off the scent a bit._   
  
“Oh, yeah. We haven’t talked much since you moved out there. It’s me, Sherman.”   
  
Stan’s breath stopped. Of all the people he expected to possibly call, his brother wasn’t even on the list.   
  
The line was quiet before a soft call came through. “Hello?”   
  
“Little Shermie?”   
  
A soft chuckle came over the line before a response. “Not so little anymore.”   
  
Stan shook himself a bit. While he was kicked out before Shermie could even remember him, he couldn’t let the veil slip. Still, his next question came out dazedly. “Oh, uh, hey kid. What’s going on?”   
  
A sigh came over the phone as the voice replied slowly. “Did you... have you seen the papers yet?”   
  
Stan was slow to answer himself. It was obvious what the younger man was talking about. His faking his own death was the only thing that could have effected the other guy in the last few days. “Yeah, I saw.”   
  
“It took me a while to gather the courage to call you up. I... heard that you two had had a falling out, and I know dad wasn’t happy with him, but still...” The boy Stan could only remember as a baby seemed to tip-toe around the fight. He was sure the others had told him some bad things, but the kid seemed to be of a different mind.   
  
“He was still family.” Stan finished the thought for his brother in a soft tone. He could practically hear the nod on the other side of the phone.   
  
“Right.”   
  
Silence fell on both sides of the phone. Thoughts of telling the truth ran through his mind, but were quickly squashed down. He wouldn’t be able to do this if he told the truth now.   
  
The silence was finally broken by Sherman. “I... don’t want us to be alone anymore, Stan.”   
  
“Huh?”   
  
“I know you’re doing big things out there, but I don’t think the family should be apart like this anymore. Stan... he was alone when it came, and I don’t want you to end up like that. So, won’t you come back home?” The tone wasn’t really questioning, but it wasn’t quite pleading either.   
  
Stan was quiet for a moment. A chance to come home? He had been working for this for years, over a decade even. Could he really pass this up?   
  
It only took a look at the vending machine to answer his question.   
  
The older man’s voice went hard as he spoke. “Sorry, Shermie, but I can’t. I got some work that I really gotta do here.”   
  
“Oh.” The voice on the line was low. Defeated. “I see.”   
  
Stan looked at his feet as his hat shaded his eyes. He knew he couldn’t go home yet, not with the family broken like this.   
  
“Well, maybe I could come up and see you some time?”   
  
The shadows around Stan seemed to lift a bit. “Oh, uh, are you sure? This place is kinda a dump.”   
  
The receiver gave a soft laugh. “Course I’ll come. Besides, I wancha to meet my girl.”   
  
“Well, if you’re sure. I think I can clean up a bit, if it’s for family.” A small smile came to the older mans face. It would be nice to see how little Shermie has grown.   
  
“I am.” The voice was light over the phone lines. It had been a while since he heard that kind of tone talked towards himself. “Stan?”   
  
“Yeah, Shermie?”   
  
“I just wanted to say... It’s been nice talkin to ya, big bro.”   
  
At these words, water started to gather in his eyes. With one hand, he brushed away at his eyes, keeping the tears from forming. “Yeah, it’s been good hearin from ya.”   
  
“I’ll see ya soon.” With those last words, the line cut off, leaving only the ended call tone coming through.   
  
Stan stood there for a moment after putting the receiver back in its cradle. Despite his best efforts, a tear rolled down his cheek. It had been so long since he had last spoken happily to any of his family.   
  
“So, he’s got a girl, huh?”   
  
The older man’s face hardened again as he looked towards the vending machine again. One fist clenched as he approached it and punched the code into the buttons, opening the secret door.   
  
As Stan walked down the stairs, only one thought repeated in his mind.   
  
_It’s for family._


End file.
